‘Fight Master: Bellator MMA’ Recap: Episode 6

The sixth episode of “Fight Master: Bellator MMA” features two more
elimination-round bouts, as Team Jackson representatives Joe Riggs and
Tim
Welch take on Team Warren’s Eric
Scallan and Team Shamrock’s Nick
Barnes.

Greg Jackson tells Welch that he has been ranked No. 6 and it is
his turn to select an opponent. Welch walks into Frank
Shamrock’s training room and calls out ninth-ranked Barnes,
whom Welch regards as a tough test.

Due to his other obligations, Jackson is unable to be in the gym
every day. As a result, Joey
Villasenor and Damacio
Page are in charge of training while their head coach is away,
and they work with Welch on his footwork. On the other side,
Shamrock advises Barnes to nullify Welch’s power punching with
kicks to the legs and body.

Barnes’ teammates ask him about the scars on his body, and he
recounts how he was accidentally set on fire by some of his cousins
when he was 15. Barnes, who is nicknamed “The Phoenix,” vowed to
become stronger from the experience and has used the incident as
motivation in his fighting career.

The men touch gloves to begin this battle of 22-year-olds, and
Barnes begins to attack with those aforementioned kicks. Welch
suddenly cracks his man with an overhand right and a left hook, but
Barnes recovers before accidentally poking Jackson’s man in the
eye. Welch counters a kick with a beautiful straight to the body,
but Barnes bulls forward with a double-leg and quickly takes
Welch’s back. Jackson’s charge fights off a rear-naked choke
attempt, but Barnes is relentless with the attack and finally
secures the tap.

“I hate losing,” Jackson says after the defeat, “but more than
anything, I hate losing to Shamrock.”

Though Jackson consoles his fighter like a concerned parent after
the defeat, he later takes his remaining two protégés aside and
speaks to them in a very different way.

“I want you to rip their f---ing hearts out,” Jackson tells Riggs
and Eric
Bradley. “We are not losing. I don’t care what the f---
happens. Do you understand me?”

As the underdog, Scallan says he has nothing to lose and believes
Riggs has a tendency to break mentally. Riggs, meanwhile, recounts
his fighting history, which has included top billing in the UFC and
Strikeforce.

Despite being the 15th seed, Scallan says he is not afraid of the
top-ranked Riggs, who is having trouble making weight. The
30-year-old steps on the scale at 193 pounds, meaning he will have
to cut more than 20 pounds inside of one week. A heartless Scallan
rubs it in by eating a massive crawfish dinner in front of his
opponent, who is stuck nibbling on two ounces of salmon and raw
spinach.

Though they will soon fight, Riggs and Scallan bond over the fact
that they are former addicts. Riggs says he will still support
Scallan after the battle, but his primary goal is to first knock
him out. Riggs survives the grueling cut and makes weight, coming
in at 170.8 pounds, while Scallan tips the scales at 170.4.

Scallan attacks with kicks to start the bout while circling away
from Riggs’ power hand. Scallan clinches and presses Riggs against
the cage, but Riggs takes him down with a pretty outside trip.
Riggs lands in side control, but Scallan scrambles back to his
feet. Scallan tries a takedown, but Jackson’s fighter shucks him
off and grabs an over-under clinch. Riggs quickly grabs a Thai plum
and puts Scallan down with a knee to the jaw. Joe Warren’s
man rolls away from the ground-and-pound, but Riggs rides him until
the round expires.

Warren’s charge drives forward for a takedown to start the second
frame, but Riggs fights him off again before turning the tables and
scoring with a trip of his own. Scallan tries to scramble to his
feet, but Riggs rolls with him and passes to side control. Riggs
loses the position, and Scallan stands in search of a single-leg.
Jackson’s fighter hits a switch and sprawls out before trying an
arm-triangle. The veteran can’t find his squeeze and releases the
hold, transitioning to mount and then taking Scallan’s back as the
round ends.

Riggs is awarded the win via unanimous decision, much to the
delight of Jackson, who remains convinced that “Diesel” holds an
excellent chance of winning the whole show.